The quake, which struck Ruoqiang County in the Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture of Bayingolin at 1:33 p.m., damaged some houses in the county's Lop Nur Township, according to Liu Wenchun, secretary of the township committee of the Communist Party of China.

"Although the quake was strongly felt in the township, no casualties have been reported so far," Liu told Xinhua over the phone.

He said workers with the township government are inspecting the damage to the houses.

Lop Nur is believed to be the nearest residential region to the epicenter of the quake, which was located at 40.4 degrees north latitude and 90.5 degrees east longitude at a depth of 8 km.

The township, covering an area of 52,000 square kilometers with a population of just over 1,000, is located in northeastern Ruoqiang.